Does Nightmare Moon still oversee the dreams of sleeping ponies? This was a question which occasionally haunted Little Steppes, since she knew the stories of Princess Luna and her dreamwalking. A demigod who could traverse the realm of Sleep, entering and altering dreams to influence and help sleeping ponies. If Nightmare Moon did the same, would she do it for the opposite purposes?
The young mare looked around. She was in a darkened library, within an old, stone castle, far from Ponyville or any place she'd seen before, but made familiar through her dreams. There were signs of battle on the walls, and dim fires from burned books and ruined furniture provided what little illumination the chamber held.
Lilly's heart raced in her chest, she'd been here before, and she knew how this dream went.
"Come now, Little Steppes!" A voice called in the darkness. "Stop wasting my time and give me the shoes!"
Little Steppes didn't know the shadowy figure who pursued her in these dreams, but she always wanted the same thing: Nightmare Moon's old magic shoes. The glittering mithril hoofwear was laden with plenty of magical enchantments and augmentations which Lilly, in 7 years of owning them, still didn't understand. What mattered was that they were powerful, and the stalker in the shadows wanted them.
Lilly turned and started running in the opposite direction. Yes, this was how it always started, and it never seemed to work, but Lilly didn't have any choice. On more than one occasion when she'd been trust into this dream, she'd tried simply giving in and giving the shady character the shoes. The first time she tried this had been terrifying uniquely to Lilly, since the shoes refused to come off. She tried anything and everything she could in the dream to remove them. It was folly. Much like when she'd first fallen into their trap, they'd held fast, as though they simply ignored all rules of reality in a personal, stubborn bid to remain bound to her hooves. 'The Shoes will only do what their owner wants them to do, and only go where their owner wants them to go' Lilly never forgot those words, but this made no sense at all.
Lilly thudded with a groan against a large oak door, not seeing it in the darkness. It was locked, and it was locked every time. She cursed her foolishness for falling into this trap, again. There was the pony, her fur black, her face concealed by a similarly dark cloak, but glowing amber eyes rested underneath it. Lilly tried to throw something at her in a bid to distract the attacker, but in the flash of seconds, she'd produced a wand fastened to her hoof. With a flick of that hoof, the projectile froze mid-flight. She chuckled, flicking her hoof again, and the projectile screamed back towards Lilly, striking her beneath the flank, taking her hind legs out from under her.
The attacker advanced upon Lilly. Her wand remained pointed at Little Steppes as she laid on the floor. Her limbs were paralyzed, as much as she tried to get up, to run, the pointing of the wand and its magic was too strong, and Lilly's body refused to obey her, and remained in place despite her mind screaming for the contrary.
"Give me the shoes, Lilly." the voice hissed.
"I, I can't!" She cried. The attacker snorted.
"Then burn."
This was how the dream ended. Fire. The attacker uttered a spell and a motion of the wand, and Little Steppes was bathed in fire. Burning, torturing, cruel flames which licked at the earth pony until the pain grew too intense to bare, and everything went black.
Lilly jumped awake in her bed with a start, sweat beading on her forehead, looking around, and seeing her bedroom in her Ponyville home. She was in her bedclothes, her daywear thrown over a chair next to her desk, her shoes placed neatly at the bedside. Everything was normal, and she was safe, but Lilly still felt uneasy as you might expect.
Could Nightmare Moon still visit the dreams of ponies? It seemed logical that she might, though Lilly desperately hoped not. The reason was simple, if Nightmare Moon still could, then she was torturing her...
* * *
"Happy birthday, Lilly!"
Little Steppes blinked awake as her room was bathed with sunlight. The young mare's gaze immediately set upon her parents, who had burst in to wake her on this, her 18th birthday.
They'd made an effort today, putting on a spread of pancakes, freshly picked fruit from the woods and cream, with a cake on the side for later. Lilly had put on her smart black day-wear dress, her shoes, and the pearl necklace which Apple Cart had given her on her 16th birthday.
"We wanted to do something we knew you'd like today." Lilly's mother said with a smile. "Today is such a very special day after all."
"It is indeed." her father added. "The big eighteen. You're a fully grown mare now." He smiled, taking a seat next to Lilly at the table. "You've come a long way since you were a filly. We're really proud of you."
"Thank you." Lilly smiled weakly. "I was a bit of a hoof-full when I was younger, wasn't I?"
"Oh no no, let's not talk like that today." Grassy Steppes cooed. "It doesn't matter if you were a bit of a sticky-hoofed dodger as a filly, you learned from your mistakes, and you're not like that anymore."
"I guess." Lilly mumbled in response, fidgeting with her front hooves as she sat. Her mother sighed, taking a seat next to her daughter and pulling her into a hug with a foreleg.
"It's no good dwelling on the past, dear." she said. "You're an adult pony now, with the rest of your life ahead of you. We both know you've got quite the journey ahead of you, and a lot to look forward to."
A sigh escaped Little Steppes, and she nodded. It had been an underlying air of sadness among her parents which had tinged the birthday breakfast some. Now that she was 18, she was leaving home. She'd been offered a job working in Apple Seed and Apple Cart's trading caravan. They'd be passing through Ponyville today, and when they left, Lilly would be going with them. She'd be helping to load and unload the wagon, but since she was too small to pull it, she'd be helping out by doing some cooking for the caravan. She was terribly excited, but definitely nervous: The caravan was heading east, to Canterlot, and then onwards to other parts of Equestria from there. Chances are, once Lilly left on that wagon cart, it would be months, maybe even a year or more before she saw her hometown again.
Lilly had a few things she needed to do before Apple Cart arrived, and she left Ponyville with him. She had to pack, of course. Not that she had a lot to pack, since Lilly had a grand total of two dresses, one pair of shoes and a pearl necklace to her entire wardrobe; she wouldn't have trouble packing all of those clothes into her luggage. She kept a lot of books and a huge collection of letters from Apple Cart and Gleaming Lulamoon, the old town librarian. Mrs. Gleaming's new work in Canterlot meant she'd become the provider of some of Lilly's best and most interesting literature: Principles of Magic, The Life and Times of Morari the Maneless, Equinus Arcana, Great Enchanters of Equestria, and perhaps most relevant for the moment, Thornhoof's Brief History of Canterlot.
She sighed. So many books, so little space. There led the somewhat depressing reality, that she'd likely have to leave some books behind, unless...
It led into one of her other tasks before she was to leave. She wanted to go about town one last time, saying her goodbyes to some of her fellow villagers. She had some money kept away from working with her father, gathering wild fruits in the Everfree Forest and selling various baked goods at the market for the past seven years. It was meager purse, but maybe she could use it to buy another bag. She didn't really want to take one from her mother or father if she could avoid it. She was no thief, not anymore at least.
There were a dozen young students of Ponyville's shoolhouse on break in the grassy schoolyard outside, running around, playing games, and having fun in the lovely sunny afternoon. Little Steppes couldn't help but feel a bit of nostalgia as she walked up the dirt track to the schoolhouse door. She knocked the door with a shoe-clad hoof.
"Urgh, what? Hello?" came Mr. Chalk's spluttering stuttering as he woke.
"Sorry, it's me, Lilly." the young mare called through the door.
"Ah, okay! Yes! Come in, come in!" Lilly pushed open the door and heading inside.
The young mare had only stopped going to school two years ago, and had been working as an apprentice to her father until today. With that in mind, she really shouldn't have been surprised that the small schoolroom had barely changed a bit since the day she'd left. And yet, she still felt a little sad. This was going to be the last time she'd see the schoolhouse, or Mr. Chalk, for a long time.
"Hello there, Little Steppes." Mr. Chalk greeted the mare with a smile. "Happy birthday."
The smile was returned by Little Steppes as she shut the door behind her. "Thank you, sir."
"Oh, Little Steppes, you've not been my student for two years now. You don't need to call me 'sir' anymore."
She winced. "Call it habit. I'm sorry." Almost instinctively, she found herself trotting over to her old desk, looking over at its wooden surface, defaced with countless doodles. "I just wanted to come see you today."
"I'm quite flattered." The smile flickered, concealing hidden sadness. "...I take it the rumours are true then? You're leaving town?"
Lilly nodded. "I'm heading off with the Seed & Cart Trading Company today. I'm the cook..." a sigh escaped her lungs as she rested a hoof on her old desk. "I just wanted to say goodbye, and thank you. You were a good teacher to me, even though... I was... I wasn't exactly a good filly back then."
"Hm?" He looked confused for a moment. "Is this about your stealing phase when you were little?"
"It wasn't a phase." Lilly protested. "It went on for years! I took all kinds of things, it didn't even matter what..." she stumbled in her words for a moment, quietly adding. "...I couldn't help it. Sometimes it was because I wanted the things I took, but it'd often just feel good doing it... Even now."
She remembered the sense of excitement she'd have from sneaking into somewhere and snooping around, being so small she was easy to hide, and the thrill of being able to steal things and, however briefly, get away with it. She knew it hurt the people she loved though. The worst part, however? Deep down, she knew she still had the itch for that excitement. She look away from her old teacher, the sense of shame made her feel nauseous
"Are you..."
"No. No!" She turned around suddenly. "Seven years. I've been able to resist the temptation for seven years. But every time I go down to the market and my belly starts rumbling, there's always that part of me there. Why don't I just swipe an apple? I'm hungry, and they won't miss one. I'm so quick they'd never even see me do it, and the thrill of it would be amazing. But I remember the looks. I remember being the village thief, the one nopony trusted. I remember what that did to my parents, to you! The punishments, the caning... Letting everypony down..." She faltered. Mr. Chalk stood up, going over and resting a hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sorry sir." She squeaked. "I'm really trying."
"I know, I know." Mr. Chalk pulled her into a brief hug, though only for a few moments. "I also hated having to cane you for that sort of thing, you know that, right? I suppose I believed that you were just being naughty. But, if you genuinely couldn't help yourself..." He paused. "I'm sorry, Lilly."
"You don't have to be sorry. Yes, it hurt, but you were doing your job, and you only brought out that thing, once? Twice? Twice, in three years of my bad behavior?"
He scoffed. "I think it was more like three. Once when you took Silver Stone's necklace. Once when you stole my teacher's textbook from my desk, using the keys you'd taken out of my coat pocket, and then when you nicked my lunch."
A nervous chuckle forced its way out of Lilly. "Yeah, I guess it was. You did cane Silver Stone as well though."
"She gave you a bloody nose. I had to. You might have taken her necklace, but she hit you. Two wrongs, and all that. Still, when my cane snapped while punishing Stinkin' Rich, well, let's just say I was as happy about that as he was." He took a breath, waving a hoof suddenly. "Oh, look at me, being a miserable old nag. It's your birthday, we should be happy." He trotted over to his desk. "What's a birthday without presents, hm?"
He produced a small parcel, wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string. Unwrapping it, the present was revealed to be a book, The Metal Alicorn. The storybook was old, but lovingly bound with hard, wooden backing, and creamy paper contained therein.
"It's, it's lovely. Thank you." Lilly said, admiring the book. "Where did you get a book like this?"
"It's a pretty old one, from my collection. But, for some reason, I thought you'd find more enjoyment from it than me." The young mare gave her teacher a grateful hug, before he led her back to the door to the schoolhouse. "Thank you for coming to see me. I'd have felt pretty glum if you hadn't. That said, do please write. It'll be great to hear from your adventures."
It was a promise Little Steppes happily kept. She found herself far more willing to tell her Mr. Chalk about her struggle to control herself when it came to property ownership. She didn't dare mention to her father that, even now, she still had temptations to steal things, and she doubted he'd believe her when she said that she didn't feel completely in control of her own actions when the itch came. The same went for her mother. For now, she was still debating telling Apple Cart, but what if Apple Seed found out? Lilly shuddered as she walked through town, she didn't expect a merchant pony to be too happy having a compulsive thief around her stock.
She was so busy getting lost in that thought, she barely even paid much attention to those around her. Only when she walked face first into the broadside of a wagon cart did she snap back into reality.
"Ha! " Apple Seed couldn't help but chortle. She'd been atop the cart, pulling crates on board before Lilly bumped into the side of the wagon. Lilly herself was dazed, falling back onto her haunches, rubbing her head. "Ya' silly filly! Ya' alright?"
"Ma!" Apple Cart, who'd been the one helping to lift the boxes up for his mother, ran over to Lilly, blushing furiously. "Don't ya' laugh at ma' fillyfriend! That looked like it hurt, Lil' Steppes. Are ya' okaky?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine." she winced, rising to her feet with the help of the large stallion, who promptly gave her a hug. "Sorry, I could've shown up without going face-first into a bloody cart."
"Don't ya' worry none, dear." Apple Seed smiled. "Ah'll forgive ya. Jus' don't forget ya' on cookin' duty for this trip."
Lilly pulled away from her coltfriend. "Sounds good to me." she said.
"Hey Ma', ya' forgetting somethin' pretty dang' important." Apple Cart spoke up. "It's Lilly's birthday for Celestia's sake! Where's her present?"
"Present? She's damn lucky ah' got her a job, wandering 'round Equestria all day, luggin' all sorts of heavy things all over, campin'." She scoffed, before revealing a smirk. "The look on ya' faces, ya' precious, ya' know that!?" She hopped off the cart, wandering over to Little Steppes. "Well, to be fair, ya' got a great pokerface too, son."
"Ah ain't got a clue what ya' talkin' about." Apple Cart snorted, when Lilly noticed a coy smile on her face.
"What are you two up to?" Little Steppes asked, looking at the pair of them.
"Ah, we might as well let the poor filly in on our surprise for her." Apple Seed smiled. "We need to go over to the Crustyloaf Corner. We got somethin' we gotta' pick up before our trip."
Crustyloaf Corner was the village bakery, owned by two earth ponies, Sweet Loaf, who did the baking, and her husband Wheat Loaf, a rather large, black maned pony. The pair had become quite a centre of the community for their produce, but also for being a music and singing duo. Sweet Loaf did the singing, while being accompanied by an extremely energetic acoustic guitar performance by her husband. Nopony knew where the two came from, or how they managed baking and music so well, but it had made Crustyloaf Corner perhaps the single most entertaining place to be in all of Ponyville. They were certainly more interesting than the owners who owned it when Lilly was younger, at least.
Today was fairly quiet. Wheaty had taken to busking outside the shop entrance, amassing quite a large pile of bits for the shop before anypony even stepped inside his shop. Needless to say, with his latest song 'Knead 'Em and Weep.' he charmed a few bits from Lilly's coinpurse too as she entered. Things were equally quiet inside, though a sweet smell hung in the air.
"Well how-dee-do, darlings." Sweet Loaf cooed from the counter. "And a happy 18th to you, Lilly!"
"Heh, thanks, Mrs. Loaf."
She giggled, swishing her blond mane as she reeled in faux-disgust at the greeting. "Oh, darling, Mrs. Loaf is my mother-in-law! I told you a thousand times, just call me Sweetie, Sweetie." She playfully waves a hoof at the young mare and turned to some boxes she kept at the back counter. She took the string, holding the box together, carefully in her mouth and set it on the front countertop next to Apple Cart and Apple Seed, a knowing smirk exchanged between the two sides. The Apples took the box, they were on their way. Truth be told, Lilly hadn't wanted a birthday party this year. She wanted to say her goodbyes and slip out with as little fuss as possible. Even if they didn't say anything of the sort, some small part of Lilly's brain couldn't shake the feeling that some of the ponies in town would do well without her. That didn't stop Apple Cart and Apple Seed from buying the young mare a small birthday cake for the road.
"Bye-bye, darling!" Sweetie cooed with a wave of the hoof. "Good luck on your trip." she then quickly added. "Oh, and don't forget to tell folks about us! We got dough!" Little Steppes fought off a smirk, hearing Sweet Loaf giggling at her own gag as they left.
"Ah' dunno, Lilly." Apple Cart spoke as they arrived back at the trade wagon. "We could'a made a real nice party for ya' if ya' wanted. Ah'm sure there'd be ponies happy to come see ya' off."
Lilly shrugged. "Ah, but you already got me a cake. That's more than enough."
"Like heck it is." he snorted. "Hey Ma'! Ya' think some of the ponies in this town would'a wanted to come to a birthday party for Lil' Steppes?"
"Course!" she called back, taking one last look over their stock. "Ah' mean, there's our kin up at the farm. There's that teacher fella', and what about her folks?"
"I already spent some time with my parents." Lilly interjected. "We had some pie and some pancakes... They were really nice... But no, I don't want to be a bother, and hey! I wanna get on the road, do something productive for somepony. Let's just go."
Apple Cart frowned. He was clearly thinking, until a sight in the distance distracted him. "Well, ah' wouldn't cash that in jus' yet. Look."
He pointed, and Lilly looked. Walking quickly down the town street, she saw her parents, hastily heading towards the wagon.
"Mum? Dad?" Lilly blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think we're doing?" her mother responded. "We came to say one last goodbye before you left."
"Oh, but..." Lilly winced, feeling rather small. "You didn't have to."
"Nonsense. It didn't feel right as is. We had to come see you off."
"Something had you in a bind." Lilly's mother spoke. "I didn't want you leaving feeling bad." She was carrying a bag and basket, which she handed to Lilly. "I found another bag for you, so you've got some space to carry some extra stuff on your journey. We packed some of the books you left, some paper and writing material so you can write home. And..." she rummaged in the bag, producing a fancy, Canterlot coinpurse. "Me and your father put some bits aside for you, for your journey."
Lilly stammered. "Oh, I... I..." Her lip quivered. "Oh, Mother, you didn't have to... W-where did you even get the money?"
"It's from the savings pot." Lilly's mother told her.
"Oh no! Mum, you can't do that! What if something happens to you and Dad? I can't take this. Not, not after..." Something had hit a nerve, and Lilly felt like crying as the coinpurse was held in her front hooves. "It... It's like I'm stealing from you again."
Lilly's mother let out a little gasp. "Lilly? That's still hurting you?" She quickly pulled her daughter into a hug. "Honey, that was nearly ten years ago!"
Lilly felt her breathing hasten, just as she felt her eyes blur and turn wet. "I, I know. I just, I can't stop thinking about it."
"Oh, Lilly..." her mother held her close, giving her daughter an affectionate squeeze with her forelegs. "You can't keep beating yourself up over this. We all do silly things as children. Don't we, Mighty?" Lilly's father nodded. "We don't hold any of it against you. You learned from it, and you don't do that sort of thing anymore."
Lilly let out a gentle moan into her mother's shoulder. She felt a gentle petting on her back, as her father came over to try to offer some support of his own. "Everypony who knows you properly has forgiven you for that nonsense." he said. "Some of them haven't, like Silver Stone, but she's not worth your time, and I doubt you'll be seeing her again." He sighed. "You're a good pony, Lilly, and me and your mum? We both know that, and love you for it, regardless of what happened."
Lilly tried to keep herself together, she'd always hatred crying, even as a little filly. She took a few deep breaths, she felt sheer embarrassment for blubbing, and her cheeks burned as she wiped her eyes dry with a hoof. "I, I know." she said, her tone shaky. "...T-thanks, dad. I love you too, both of you." A pause, blinking heavily. "...I'm gonna miss you."
"We'll miss you too, dear. Please, do write." Lilly nodded, and her mother give one final hug, before letting her go.
Lilly was a little shaky in her legs as she turned away, though her hooves (either through her own strength, or the magic shoes helping her) stayed upright. Apple Cart, seeing Lilly's state, rushed over to her, and had no qualms from pulling her into a hug of his own. There was nothing else. He hugged her, kissing her cheek and running a hoof through her autumn red mane. There were no words, just affection and warmth, for as long as Lilly needed it. As soon as she pulled away, Apple Cart relinquished her.
She gave him a thankful look, quietly climbing up onto the wagon with his help. Apple Seed had put the canvas up over its wooden frame, so aside from that light which crept in through the wagon entrance, it was rather dark inside. Apple Cart climbed inside too, moving the tents and sleeping bags next to a barrel of apples so he could set by Lilly's side. together, they took one last look at Ponyville as the wagon started to move, leaving her parents, her home, and Ponyville to grow smaller and smaller in the distance...
